1. Organizational Behavior 15th Ed
Chapter 16
Robbins and Judge
Organizational Culture
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2. Chapter 16 Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics.
Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization.
Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture.
Show how culture is transmitted to employees.
Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created.
Describe a positive organizational culture.
Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture.
Show how national culture may affect the way organizational culture is transported to a different country.
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3. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.
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4. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
Research identifies seven primary characteristics that capture the essence of an organization’s culture:
Innovation and risk taking.
Attention to detail.
Outcome orientation.
People orientation.
Team orientation.
Aggressiveness.
Stability.
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5. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
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6. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
Other research has conceptualized culture into four different types based on competing values.
One is the collaborative and cohesive clan.
Two is the innovative and adaptable adhocracy.
Three is the controlled and consistent hierarchy.
Four is the competitive and customer focused market.
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7. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.
Research questions:
Does it encourage teamwork?
Does it reward innovation?
Does it stifle initiative?
It differs from job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is evaluative.
Organizational culture is descriptive.
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8. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
Most organizations have a dominant culture and numerous sets of subcultures.
Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face.
Strong culture: A culture in which the core values are intensely held and widely shared.
Core values: The primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the organization.
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9. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
LO 1
High formalization creates predictability, orderliness, and consistency.
Formalization and culture are two different roads to a common destination.
The stronger an organization’s culture, the less management needs to develop formal rules and regulations.
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10. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization
LO 2
Culture’s Functions
Boundary-defining role
Conveys a sense of identity for members
Facilitates the generation of commitment
Enhances the stability of the social system
Serves as a sense-making and control mechanism
Guides and shapes attitudes and behavior of employees
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11. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization
LO 2
Today’s trend toward decentralized organizations makes culture more important than ever, but ironically it also makes establishing a strong culture more difficult.
Individual-organization “fit”—that is, whether the applicant’s or employee’s attitudes and behavior are compatible with the culture—strongly influences who gets a job offer, a favorable performance review, or a promotion.
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12. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization
LO 2
Organizational climate is shared perceptions about the organization and work environment.
Factors of climate has been studied, which include safety, justice, diversity, and customer service.
Climates can interact with one another to produce behavior.
Climate also influences the habits people adopt.
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Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization
LO 2
Culture as a Liability:
Institutionalization
Barriers to Change
Barriers to Diversity
Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers
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14. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
How a Culture Begins
Ultimate source of an organization’s culture is its founders.
Founders have vision of what the organization should be.
Unconstrained by previous ideologies or customs.
New organizations are typically small; facilitates the founders’ imparting of their vision on all organizational members.
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15. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
Culture creation occurs in three ways:
Founders hire employees who feel the way they do.
Employees are indoctrinated and socialized into the founders’ way of thinking.
Founders’ behaviors act as role models.
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16. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
Sustain Through Selection
The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully.
Top Management
The actions of top management also have a major impact on the organization’s culture.
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17. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
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18. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
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19. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
LO 3
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20. Show how culture is transmitted to employees
Culture is transmitted to employees through
Stories,
Rituals,
Material symbols, and
Language.
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21. Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created
LO 5
Characteristics shaping high ethical standards:
High in risk tolerance
Low to moderate in aggressiveness
Focuses on means as well as outcomes
Managers are
Supported for taking risks and innovating,
Discouraged from unbridled competition, and
Guided to not just what is achieved but also how.
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22. Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created
LO 5
If the culture is strong and supports high ethical standards, it should have a very powerful and positive influence on employee behavior.
The negative consequences of a systematic culture of unethical behavior can be severe and include customer boycotts, fines, lawsuits, and government regulation of an organization’s practices.
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23. Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created
LO 5
How can management create a more ethical culture?
Be a visible role model.
Communicate ethical expectations.
Provide ethical training.
Reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones.
Provide protective mechanisms.
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24. Describe a positive organizational culture
LO 6
There is a trend today for organizations to attempt to create a positive organizational culture.
A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality growth.
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25. Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture
LO 7
What Is Spirituality?
Workplace spirituality is not about organized religious practices. It is not about God or theology.
Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of community.
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26. Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture
LO 7
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27. Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture
LO 7
The concept of workplace spirituality draws on our previous discussions of values, ethics, motivation, and leadership.
Spiritual organizations include:
Benevolence.
Strong sense of purpose.
Trust and respect.
Open-mindedness.
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28. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Show how national culture may affect the way organizational culture is transported to a different country
LO 8
Organizational cultures often reflect national culture.
One of the primary things U.S. managers can do is to be culturally sensitive.
The management of ethical behavior is one area where national culture can rub up against corporate culture.
U.S. employees are not the only ones who need to be culturally sensitive.
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29. Summary and Implications for Managers
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30. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.   publishing as Prentice Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall